The Methodist Church was the major

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

denomination in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

from its founding in 1884 until it merged with two other denominations to form the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

in 1925. The Methodist Church was itself formed from the merger of four smaller Methodist denominations with ties to British and US Methodist denominations.

History

Laurence Coughlan was a lay preacher of the British Methodist movement. He arrived in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in 1766 and began working among

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

English and Irish settlers. In 1779

William Black William Black may refer to: Politicians * William Black (Ontario politician) (1867–1944), speaker of the Legislature of Ontario and Conservative MLA * William Black (Canadian politician) (1869–1930), Progressive party member of the Canadian Hou ...

, born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

but raised in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

was converted to Methodism and commenced evangelizing in the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

, his work falling under the supervision of the British Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1800. In 1855 this body formed the Wesleyan Methodist Conference of Eastern British America.Victor Shepherd (2001), "The Methodist Tradition in Canada."
Retrieved July 17, 2016. Under the leadership of William Losee, meanwhile, the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

in the US, established on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

in 1784, began work in 1791 among British immigrants to

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. By 1828 the Methodist Episcopal work in Canada had formally severed ties with the US. In 1833 most of it joined with the British Wesleyans to form the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada, adding to itself the Methodist people of

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

in 1854. That part of it which absented itself from the union re-formed into the Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada in 1834, eventually growing into the second largest Methodist body in Canada. In turn the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Canada and the Wesleyan Methodist Conference of Eastern British America united in 1874, annexing as well the Methodist New Connexion Church in Canada (itself an amalgam of several small groups), thereby forming the Methodist Church of Canada. In 1884 this body joined with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Canada, together with the

Bible Christian Church The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O'Bryan (born Bryant), a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall. The first society, consisting of just 22 members, met at Lake Farm ...

of Canada and the

Primitive Methodist Church The Primitive Methodist Church is a Christian denomination within the holiness movement. Originating in early 19th-century England as a Christian revival, revivalist movement within Methodism, it was heavily influenced by American evangelist Loren ...

in Canada, bringing to birth the Methodist Church, with churches in Canada, Newfoundland (which at the time was not part of the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation () was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Name of Canada#Adoption of Dominion, Dominion of Ca ...

) and

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. This lattermost union made the Methodist Church the largest Protestant denomination in Canada. It now included all Canadian Methodists with the exception of several very small groups: the British Methodist Episcopal Church (a development of the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Methodist denomination based in the United States. It adheres to Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, connexional polity. It ...

serving chiefly people of colour), two German-speaking bodies (the

Evangelical Association The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known in the late 1700s as the New Methodist Conference and in the early 1800s as the Albright Brethren, was a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent". It was Wesleyan theolo ...

and the United Brethren in Christ), and the

Free Methodist Church The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is Evangelicalism, evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan theology, Wesleyan–Arminian in theology. The Free Met ...

(a body that had begun in New York State in 1860 and extended itself into Canada.)

Merger to form the United Church of Canada

In 1925, the Methodist Church united with 70% of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Church in Canada and 96% of the

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

Union of Canada to form The United Church of Canada. The Methodist Church with its notable benefactors the Eaton and Massey families was the sponsor of Victoria College at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, once and still a mainstay of intellectual rigour at that university, and the alma mater of many of Canada's leaders and most famous thinkers. Although Methodists were never a majority of anglophone Canadians or even Torontonians, they exerted significant political and social influence in southern Ontario, particularly in Toronto. Many of the causes espoused by and associated with the United Church in the 20th century were, although also associated with other Evangelical Protestant denominations, especially Methodist ones, in particular Sabbatarianism, temperance, the rights of women and missions to the aboriginal peoples of Canada. Although Methodism in Canada abandoned that label in 1925, many United Church people in Canada are entirely unaware of the term. The foremost Canadian Methodist,

Egerton Ryerson Adolphus Egerton Ryerson (24 March 1803 – 19 February 1882) was a Canadian educator, author, editor, and Methodist minister who was a prominent contributor to the design of the Canadian public school system. Ryerson is considered to be the fo ...

, is commemorated by the numerous Ryerson United Churches across the country.

History

Merger to form the United Church of Canada

See also

Notes

References

Further reading